I got a sample of this tea with my first Mandala order. Thanks Garret!

This is not a kind of tea I actively seek out, but a kind I always tend to enjoy. Very smooth and sweet. Lots of nice roasty and cocoa-like flavors without being super heavy. I’m glad I got to try it :)

Oh yeah! I almost forgot I made a big pitcher of iced Verdant oolongs. I had a couple of almost empty sample packs that I wanted to finish off- It was half hand picked Autumn Tieguanyin and half Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong (Don’t freak out, purists!) And OMG it is SO GOOD! Best straight iced tea ever! :D

YUM! Having another cup of this delicious and seasonally appropriate tea today. I wonder how soon the art contest results are going to be announced! I’m trying not to get my hopes up but I’ve always got so many teas on my Butiki wish list :)

I’m very glad I got to try it. I think the flavoring is pretty good, but the marshmallow base is a little too weak for me. I think this would be wonderful on a genmaicha or decaf black base. I’m pretty picky about my herbals, I will say. There are only a few I actually really like.

This smells like pumpkin spice with a hint of chocolate. Mmm, dessert! The base tea is smooth, the flavorings are realistic enough, and everything is pretty balanced. It is an enjoyable desserty treat!

Having all these new teas to try is great- it is keeping me from jonesing to make another tea order, lol. Yep, I’m a tea addict :P

I’m back! Camping was excellent. We picked the perfect weekend to go hiking in Indiana as the trees are just about at peak color here. It did get VERY cold last night though. We woke up with red noses and frost on the outside of the tents!! BBRRRRR!

Anyway, I got a sample of this with my most recent order. I’m very excited to try my 2nd Sheng! I only have Mandala’s Wild Monk to compare this to. My husband and I have been sharing the sample faux gongfu style. I set up the kettle to hold at the right temperature, and the leaves are sitting in a David’s Tea perfect steeper basket, and we will take turns each filling our little vintage pyrex cups halfway full of water, since they hold exactly 8oz each. The first couple of steeps are a little smokey, but not as smokey as Wild Monk. If Wild Monk is a light pine wood flavor, these purple buds are a richer darker oak or maybe apple wood. As the infusions continue the lingering fruitiness begins to build at the end of each sip. I thought of the Wild Monk as a tangy apricot, but this is a sour cherry/plummy/prune type fruit. Very rich and thick. There is a mushroomy note, but not an unpleasant one. I’m excited to see how many steeps we get total this afternoon. I think we are up to a dozen right now. YAY! I’m really getting to be fond of puerh!